Corinthians Under-20 seek to end poor run before Paulistão knockouts | OneFootball

Having qualified for the knockout stage of the Paulista Under-20 Championship, Corinthians head into the final round of the first phase with two parallel goals. In addition to staying in contention for the top spot in Group 1, the Sons of Terrão are looking to get back to winning ways to avoid matching the team’s longest winless streak recorded in 2026.

Managed by William Batista, the team hosts América-SP this Saturday (12) at 3 p.m. (Brasília time) at Fazendinha. Corinthians have not won in their last two matches, both in the state championship, and another slip-up would leave the team with three consecutive games without a victory, matching their longest dry spells of the season.

Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Ag. Corinthians

The current run began on August 21, when Timãozinho were beaten 2-1 by Juventus at Parque São Jorge. In the following round, played on September 4, the team visited São Bento at Walter Ribeiro Stadium in Sorocaba and came away with a 0-0 draw.

Timãozinho tries to avoid matching longest drought of the year

So far, Corinthians have not gone beyond three straight matches without a win in 2026, considering their Paulista and Brazilian Under-20 Championship fixtures.

The most recent streak of that length came between June and July. It began with a 2-2 draw against Flamengo in the Brazilian league. Then Timãozinho lost 1-0 to Juventude, also in the national competition, and drew 0-0 with Santos in the state championship.

The same scenario had already appeared at two other moments this season. In May, Corinthians lost 1-0 to Vasco and Palmeiras and, between those two results, drew 3-3 with Red Bull Bragantino. All three matches were part of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship.

Before that, in April, another run of three matches without a win also took place in the national tournament. Timãozinho were beaten 1-0 by Fortaleza, drew 1-1 with Botafogo, and finished 0-0 against Santos.

In this way, a win over América-SP would not only mean ending the first phase on a positive note, but also prevent Corinthians from once again reaching their longest negative streak of the year.

Top spot will also be up for grabs at Fazendinha

Saturday’s round will also determine Corinthians’ final position in Group 1. The Alvinegro have 29 points, the same total as Santos, but trail their rivals on goal difference.

The two clubs reached the final stretch battling directly for first place. Timãozinho’s recent slip-ups allowed Santos to take over the lead precisely on the tiebreaker.

As the matches in the final round will be played simultaneously, Corinthians will need to do their part against América-SP and keep an eye on Santos’ result to find out whether they can reclaim the lead.

The standing matters for the knockout path. After the first phase, the qualified teams are ranked according to their campaigns to determine the knockout matchups, with the best-performing sides facing the lowest-ranked qualifiers.

Corinthians are already guaranteed a place in the next stage and head into the close of the qualifying phase with the best defense in the competition and the third-best overall campaign, as William Batista highlighted after the team’s last training session.

The clash with América-SP kicks off at 3 p.m. this Saturday at Fazendinha, with free admission for fans. In addition to the possibility of reclaiming the group lead, the Sons of Terrão are looking to head into the knockout stage leaving behind their current two-match winless run.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.